[pct-l] " Base weights . . . " Six

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Wow, that is some story about your first day on the trail! I had not  
heard any warnings about camping near the beginning and I actually  
camped around mile 9. So when I did the Hauser creek/Hauser mountain  
area it was early morning with cool weather. I did carry a ton of  
water, but there was actually a little water up beyond Hauser Mountain.

As far as going ultralight on water, I look back at my notes and it  
seems I carried more water than I needed almost all the time. I  
rarely ran out of water. Too often I walked by creeks and sources  
with all my containers full. How silly of me. Despite there being a  
water report, there were many sources I did not feel comfortable  
trusting, especially caches. (Damn the caches to hell, except for the  
ones that saved my butt.) Now that I have been there and seen what I  
am capable of, I think I might be able to let go of my insecurity  
with water a little. I mean, I would feel I needed to fill 5 liters  
if there was a 15 mile space without water. How silly. I now see that  
15 miles isn't even a whole day. 20 miles isn't even enough to get  
worried about if the source at mile 20 is going to come near dinner  
time. No need to be just like Nimblewill Nomad, but he did offer  
something I could learn from.

Well, live and learn. There's a reason to go back. More lessons to  
learn. More insecurities to shed.